It's true there's NO ONE as advanced as Aesop Rock but that's in the art of writing and he's in a totally wild zone right now. I don't need to have a hero but here and now Lupe clearly stands out as the best, hands down. His relevance to the world is too real.

Lupe isnt on a whole nother level then every other rapper, but hes definitely in his own corner when comes to being a lyricist, meaning hes not the best rapper to ever live hes the shit no doubt, but hes unique in what he writes and hes articulate, and for kid cudi ill agree and disagree with nianja kid cudi doesnt rhyme very well in his songs, but that doesnt mean what hes saying doesnt have meaning its more of a poem

Obviously KR hasn't caught on to your sarcastic oxy-moron Ian, and quite a few haven't noted the hyperbole he purposefully uses throughout these boards just to piss yall off. Hence the friction XD but I'll give you guys a simple solution to "Lupe Fiasco's competition": He's in a league of his own. Now drop it.

nianja909...
in the gutta of the suburbs... "b" lol
wow... can you make yourself sound more ignorant?
really dude, quit PRETENDING, go somewhere with that cause I doubt even you can come up with an artist that can make lyrically dense songs as lu, thats my opinion and I have plenty of support. Thats why we all like Lupe, if you don't have the capacity to realize his ability, then YOU need to either go back to school, learn the definitions of a metaphor, double entendre, pun, simile, or simply just "kill yourself"...
nothing against cudi, hes dope aight, just lupe brings something else to the table
if you dont understand the definition of the word "opinion"... go kill yourself... the world would be much better without ignorance
shout out 2 KAT
'nuff said

'the world needs less ignorance. suicide is just the quickest and most effective way to rid itself of it'
ironic that YOU would say that Ian loooool
anyways, ok well now that my self-esteem is ruined by e-beefin' (im a noob, handicapped, stupid and ignorant.. oh and not AnonG) I may as well go kill myself, i will just need to come to your neighborhood Ian cause it's soooo hard and get shot or something? Sorry, is that what they do, I don't know how the ghetto works, but it seems like if I went it wold be some form of suicide...

^ Update on number 4. Not necessarily the best way to describe what I was trying to say. Different people enjoy certain aspects more, I understand that. But Meaning alone doesn't make a song good or bad. If you think it does, then kill yourself.

1) Anyone who thinks Lupe is on a "whole nother level" then other rappers, should kill themselves
2) Anyone who thinks Cudi should be mentioned in a conversation about lyricists, should kill themselves
3) "Potential" DOESN'T sound good, and USUALLY doesn't equate to good music
4) If you seriously think "Meaning" is the primary judging factor for the quality of a song... Kill yourself
5) Having an opinion is fine. Having a stupid opinion... Kill Yourself
Seriously, just cause this is Lu's site doesn't mean you have to drool all over dudes nuts. There is a s*** load of music out there, the world doesn't end at Lupe and f***in Cudi.
6) If you TRULY believe one rapper is better than everyone else and or "the best", Kill Yourself. Having a favorite artist among many is one thing, thinking a single rapper and or limited group of rappers (i.e. Conscious rap, Gangster Rap, Backpackers etc) are the end all be all is completely different.
7) Kill Yourselves. All of you. (Except for AnonG)
Oh yeah
8) If you think rap about "Money/Cars/Women/Materialism" isn't good based on the subject matter ALONE. Killer yourself.

Also, the brothas from Dead Prez are up there. They tend to keep their lyrics simple as their focus is on delivering a message with urgency. M-1 and Stic both have incredible flow, and their song topics reflect much of this world.

There is maybe only a handful of other artists that can compete with lupe. But the messages in lupe's songs is what makes him such a great rapper in my eyes anyway. He doesn't put out songs that will get tons of radio play, but yet he has managed to become so popular anyway. he is already a legend in the rap game....Kid Cudi and Kanye West are the best in my opinion, but Lupe is up there with them.

Hmm I can see what your saying IBIS... I mean EVERYONE has potential to a certain extent to do great things haha... artists themselves don't use young as an excuse, it's people like me that like to have faith in someone who released something that was good but would like the next to be something great, or they just like to overuse the words potential and young loool ya I'm guilty for that too. When did Soulja boy have potential though?? jk!! but ya, point taken

lol i just love the random percentages thrown around as if some complex-ass calculations were just made. Regardless, just support the music people, Lupe Fiasco is the best that is under 30 years old, that's the way i see it. Over 30, there are a few that can fux with him

Every emcee has "potential". I think the criticism comes from the point that it is frustrating to see that potential go to waste. Also, as a fan I become frustrated when an artist uses words like "young" and "potential" as an excuse. In the end, the artist has a choice on whether they want to sign the contract for the major label. They make their choice on how much of their "potential" they want to use. Souljah Boy had "potential" when he was an embryo.....

Nianja, grow up and learn how to see things from a different persons perspective.. like shit your not the only one on this planet who is entitled to an opinion? I'm not surprised at Cudi haters though, what you all said negatively did make sense (everybody at Nianja b/c your just talking shit and not facts and trying to drive me insane I think, you wanna talk politics? then grow a pair), don't get me wrong... I just think that he has potential.
AnonymousG, I really like what you said pointing out the individuality of art in general, what you said makes a lot of sense probably the most sense that I've seen so far on this topic... and as if you referenced Salvador Dahli, respect!!!! haha, but I agree with that viewpoint 100%

"if you actually LISTEN to what he says it's got solid meaning.."
You just named about 90% of the "Decent" or better rappers. Which make up about 70% of all rappers with any respectable sized following. And the best names you can come up with are Asher and Cudi for "Lyrical Content"? Who fall under the, maybe lower 20% of the initial group?
That's not me sticking my nose up... That's me getting a chuckle out of Special Ed kids trying to talk politics.

Not sure. Lupe has the kind of ability to switch flows throughout the song. He has a knack for complex rhyme schemes, and makes song writing seem effortless, which I mean by way of storytelling. He also raps under many different types of sounds, as he can go over rock type beats or slower soulful types.
A few other emcees that can do that are Tech N9ne, Raw Poetic of Panacea, Jean Grae, and K-Rino.

Old School can't compare though, their rhyme simplicity (rhyme scheme) is way under what we have now. Daddy Kane was the first real popular rapper to incorporate complexity in his rhyme. And unless you were there with Herc, i don't think you can just call people kids lol